I am the grit in the gears, the missing bolt, I am the poker of sticks into spokes.
I like to know how things work, but sometimes when I take them apart and rebuild them, I have a few pieces left over.
I am a man, so I tend to leave reading the instructions until after it goes wrong.
And like all men I have a comprehensive mental map of the world and never need to ask directions.
I never get lost, only sometimes I'm late, or end up in the wrong place entirely.
It's what we do.

Monday, 18 May 2009

These are made by German firm Festo, exploring the future of robotics, but crossing a border into bio-mimicry and art. In my huge mansion, that I will one day have, I think I'll have shoals of these roaming the atrium.

Click the video embedded links or google Festo for lots more, but for me, these are the most beautiful of Festo's creatures.

A live concert recording from the Byds gig, the Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, 1968.I loved this song in 1968, no less now. In 1968, the first manned Apollo mission was launched, (Apollo 7) the first space mission to carry a three man crew, a previously unheard of eleven day orbital mission, later that year Apollo 8 left earth orbit and travelled to the moon on a three-day journey, completing ten lunar orbits, in preparation for the moon landing in july '69.1968 was a time of unrest and rebellion, of assassination and unease, Russian tanks crushed the Prague Spring rebellion, Paris was ablaze, Martin Luther King was murdered. Baader-Meinhof guerilla gang bombs go off in Berlin, Wiki 1968.Others were exploring inner space."The obscure lyrics, penned by Clark, are about the group's plane trip touring England in 1965. "Eight miles high, and when you touch down, you'll find that it's stranger than known." Airliners fly at an altitude of six to seven miles high; but it was felt that "eight miles high" sounded better. Unconvinced, the BBC banned the song"The BBC didn't like that word "high"........

Found via a site I've forgotten, (Remembered! http://extragoodshit.phlap.net/?p=45259) as umpty-ten visitors are pouring in via Bifurcated Rivets, it would be remiss of me not to reveal my source, but most of the pics came via Flickr sets, found by googling "Lello bookshop Oporto"The most beautiful bookstore I've ever seen, containing a staircase that I can only describe as 'luscious',- Imagine that. I'd never really think of luscious and staircase in one thought, normally.The bookstore is Lello and Irmao, in Oporto, Portugal. If I'm ever in Portugal, I'll definitely be going there. Mmm, a fine vintage port, a cafe overlooking the harbour, and a good book.From Lello.

Thanks to the photographers who posted these images elsewhere, I apologise for not crediting you, in return, you're free to steal any of mine... But I recommend readers, wanting to see more, googling to find them.